Newcastle and North Shields Railway set to celebrate 175th anniversary

Families will roll back the years with a special event to celebrate the 175th anniversary of Tyneside railways

Metro and museum bosses have teamed up to celebrate the 175th anniversary of suburban railways on Tyneside

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A steam train display will mark the 175th anniversary of the Metro line - amongst the oldest in the world.

Next month marks 175 years since the opening of a line which still forms part of the modern day Tyne and Wear Metro system – the Newcastle and North Shields Railway.

And to celebrate the occasion on June 1, the Stephenson Railway Museum is due to run special steam trains from platforms at Percy Main as well as from the main museum, linking in with Metro services.

The family day will see historical re-enactors dressed as figures from 1839 welcoming passengers to Percy Main and talking about early North East railway history, and souvenir tickets for those taking the steam train.

A brass band will also be playing at North Shields Metro station , the original terminus of the Newcastle and North Shields Railway, where a plaque is being unveiled to mark the anniversary, before VIP guests travel on to the museum by Metro and steam train.

Huw Lewis, head of communications at Nexus, which owns and manages Metro, said: “This was the earliest railway built first and foremost to carry people from emerging suburbs to the centre of a city – what we recognise now as a Metro system.

“North East England led the way in the development of the early railways and we are delighted to be marking this anniversary with events at North Shields and at the Stephenson Museum to help tell that story.”

Metro and museum bosses have teamed up to celebrate the 175th anniversary of suburban railways on Tyneside

Robin Gibson of the Stephenson Museum, said: “Families can catch a Metro to Percy Main, then change to a heritage engine for a train ride to the museum at our station, as well as meeting some characters from history along the way.”

The museum will be selling souvenir tickets on the day for steam train rides, between 11am and 2.30pm on Sunday, June 1.

The Stephenson Museum, on Middle Engine Lane, North Tyneside , is free to enter and contains a wealth of North East railway history.

The Newcastle and North Shields Railway opened in June 1839 between a terminus in Carliol Square in the city centre and North Shields.

Metro still uses the same line between Chillingham Road station and North Shields, where the station remains on its original site, making it the oldest purpose-built suburban railway in the world.

Some elements of the original infrastructure, including the stone piers of the Howdon Viaduct over Willington Gut, remain visible today.

For more information on prices and times go to the what’s on section of the Tyne and Wear Museums website www.twmuseums.org.uk